“The equipment is of lesser importance,” he said. “An empty space would be fine as long as it’s spacious enough.”
“Let me make a few inquiries, and I can have more information for you,” she said, not quite looking back up at him. “How urgently do you need this available?”
“Ideally sometime in the next few months. The sooner the better, of course, but no real urgency yet.”
“That’s doable. I’ll have my assistant double check the places I have in mind and get back to you.”
“That would be perfect. Although…” He paused, considering. “Well, I suppose you can send any missives to my office, but my home address might be more appropriate, since this is a personal project.”
Bea glanced up at him at that, but her expression didn’t change. After a beat, she chirped, “Of course. Not a problem at all.”
Adrissu smiled at her. He loved humans that knew not to ask unnecessary questions.
“Excellent. Thank you so much,” he said, stepping toward the door again. “I’ll keep an eye out for your correspondence.”
“I’ll keep you updated,” she said, already turning her attention back to her papers.
That done, he did a quiet audit of some of the academy equipment to see if he could offload anything without causing any problems. There were a few older enchantment tables that he probably could have taken, but they looked nothing like the ones he had seen in the Blackthorn workshop. He suspected Pollux would be particular about them, so instead of taking them, he wrote to Pollux through their shared parchment, asking if more basic pieces would be alright, or if he could bring one of his preferred enchantment tables with him. He did not get an immediate reply.
There was nothing left to do but wait, and only then did the old familiar restlessness of being apart from his mate start to settle in. He had all his own personal projects on hold, of course, so he didn’t even have anything pressing to turn his attention to, so he decided to start the upcoming term’s curricula edits early.
“Soon,” he murmured absently in his study, as Vesper slithered anxious circles around the room. “Soon, I promise.”
A few weeks later, Adrissu received a short missive from Bea: there were two work spaces she thought would be suitable, so she listed the addresses and invited him to visit at his leisure, as both were currently vacant. He spent the next afternoon looking over both; one was much too small, and the other a better size, though a little further away. It would have to do, so he told Bea he would take it, and received the keys the following week.
With this secured, he told Pollux that he had procured the workspace and would work on getting it up to speed, but he was welcome to come whenever was convenient for him. The reply from Pollux seemed noncommittal, but he almost expected it. The elf might be feeling hesitant, but Adrissu knew his mate felt the same pull he did and would come to Polimnos in his own time. Plus, it meant he could take his time furnishing the studio instead of trying to rush it to completion.
The one thing Pollux did insist on, though, was his own specialized enchantment forge. An old one from the Academy would suffice in a pinch, but for long-term work, Pollux wanted his own design. Transporting one from Wintergrove to Polimnos would be nigh on impossible, though, so he had Adrissu purchase the various different parts that he would need and planned to construct it when he arrived. It was a pain to get all the parts—the specialized stone that Pollux had ordered from an elven mason in the far northwest, right near the Aefrayan border, was the most costly and time-consuming—and it took nearly two months to complete. Eventually, Adrissu had all the parts that Pollux requested, the space was fully furnished, and all that was left was to wait for Pollux to arrive.
It took another month for Pollux to settle all his affairs; Adrissu offered to come help him, but Pollux refused, as stubborn and independent as he expected. He arrived in Polimnos one sunny morning a few weeks into autumn, carrying most of his belongings in two heavy bags with many of his other personal items due to arrive via courier the next day. The type of steam carriage he hired for the trip couldn’t drive easily in the streets that had been paved long before such carriages existed. They would only pick up or drop off passengers outside the city walls, so Adrissu met him at the gate with an eager smile. Pollux’s eyes were glancing around the city walls suspiciously, but when his gaze found Adrissu’s, his expression relaxed just a tiny bit.
“Let me carry that,” Adrissu said, taking the bag that Pollux was carrying, which he begrudgingly allowed. “I hope the carriage ride wasn’t too miserable.”
“The ride was bumpy,” he muttered, scowling. “Motion sickness. It was entirely miserable.”
“I’m sorry,” Adrissu replied, his gaze softening. “I’ll deal with all the unpacking. Just come and rest.” Pollux flushed, embarrassed, but didn’t protest as Adrissu led him further into the city.
Once Adrissu’s tower was visible on the hill in the distance, Pollux stopped short, staring up with an inscrutable expression. Adrissu stopped, watching him carefully, until Pollux looked back at him.
“It’s... strange,” he said simply, shaking his head, and Adrissu knew that was probably all Pollux would share for now. Kian and Braern had similar experiences, seeing or being in his home for the first time—he supposed it must have been a strange sensation, finding that something they had only ever seen in their dreams was firmly situated in reality.
“Come on, then,” Adrissu urged him softly, placing his free hand on the small of his back. “Don’t you want to see it?” After only another moment of hesitation, Pollux nodded, then continued walking alongside Adrissu.
But he again stopped short when they were on the cobblestone path leading up to the tower, looking up with the same dubious expression. This time, Adrissu kept walking past him, until he was at the heavy wooden door, and only then turned back to look at him.
“Have you really never made a change to the tower in all your years here?” Pollux called up to him, the question taking him by surprise. “Not even a new door or anything?”
Adrissu laughed. “No, I’ve never needed to.” Pollux had a small smirk on his face as he followed Adrissu up the path and into the tower.
As always, Vesper made a beeline for Pollux, landing with a loud thud when she dropped down from her perch on the kitchen table.
“Gods, she’s much bigger than I thought,” Pollux exclaimed, but he allowed the huge snake to coil around his leg, so her broad face rested against his chest and looked up at him with her beady eyes.
“She’s glad to see you, as always,” Adrissu murmured. Despite himself, Pollux smiled a bit at that, stroking the top of her head with two fingers. “Welcome home.”
Pollux glanced up at him, his smile widening. “It’s good to be back, I think.”
The workshop that Adrissu had set up for Pollux was well-equipped enough that the elf could live there part of the time, so after he had found a place for some of his belongings at the tower, they brought a few more things to the workshop. It was much smaller than the Blackthorn Enchantments shop had been, of course, but it was more than suitable for a single person, and Pollux seemed pleased with it. They dropped off the extra clothes and toiletries that they had brought, and the next day, Pollux returned to the workshop to set up his enchantment forge.
